From Wole Balogun,
Ado-Ekiti
Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has explained why he adopted his deputy, Prof Kolapo Olusola, as his successor.
The governor’s choice of Olusola has sparked negative reactions from aspirants on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state with one of them, Dayo Adeyeye, resigning his appointment as pro-chancellor and chairman of Council of the Ekiti State University.
Fayose said: “Constitutionally, my deputy is at liberty to run for election and I am at liberty to support anyone of my choice. Above all, other aspirants have nothing to fear, if they have capacity to defeat him (Olusola) as the primary election is ahead.
Reacting to complaints by the aggrieved aspirants, he added: “If my support was for them, they would not complain. Rather, they would be celebrating it by now. Most of the aspirants complaining made a success of their political career through God’s grace and by my humble self. They never complained when they were rising at the expense of others.”
Fayose assured the aspirants that primaries would be conducted to elect the party’s standard bearer. “The adoption of Olusola does not mean there will be no primary. Even for sole candidates, there must be a no or yes answer, so the primary must hold,” he said.